Chocolate Brown Teefus!

Chocolate scented gums with peppermint teeth glycerin soap by The Soap Seduction.
I came across this realistic looking denture soap via twitter and thought - man that is some crazy lookin ass soap! lol- Had to share!

This soap is the perfect gift for "Grandmas, grandpas, snaggle-toofed kiddies, and your best bud who needs a cheerful pick-me-up! Also makes a hilarious stocking-stuffer!"

 The Soap Seduction also offers 'normal' handmade soaps such as her Dirty Soap, Pink Sugar Donut Hole Soaps, and her vegan friendly Shitfaced Soap (this one is great for "Tough-as- nails broads, manly-men, stressed out individuals, and those who have mastered the art of imbibing responsibly ")

Btw, The Soap Seduction has a section especially for those wanting vegan friendly bath and body goods which are goods.  There's something for everyone!

The Honey Bar Soap
 (Vegan)

Fabulous Art Prints, Originals By Meluseena

Have you ever come across artwork that just tugged at something inside you?

While checking up on my personal twitter account, I came across a tweet from Meluseena which mentioned a 'new blog update with new art'.

I was immediately compelled to click what ever link this person had to offer because her twitter picture is so unique. It definitely stands apart from the rest!

When I first saw it, the look on the girl's face enticed me to make up a story about why it was what it was. I decided that perhaps she had just seen the guy of her dreams make his way to her sister, instead of her, take her hand and kiss it (so as to show his interest and intentions) in a far away time when that was what people did.

Or perhaps she had just gotten done preparing a nice dessert which she would proudly serve after supper. It had to cool, of course, so out of the oven it went an on to the trivet. Having gone out of the kitchen for just a second, she returns to find her little pest of a brother digging into it with his nubby, grubby fingers. The look on her face would be the calm before the wrath.

(this is a scenario that I am all too familiar with =-|)

I may have gotten a bit carried away with my impression of what this face was for before I actually clicked through to the blog. There, it actually belongs to a quite young looking, but fierce nonetheless, dark haired female who has (dare I assume) Napoleon Bonaparte dangling from her pinky finger while hanging on for dear life! It's absolutely wonderful!

The introduction that Lisa Falzon's blog header (http://lisa-falzon.blogspot.com) gives us as we enter both invites and dares us to scroll down to see what else there is going on there.

I think that what has drawn me into Liza's art world is the expression on her subjects faces along with the use of vivid color. Her works of art, which are also interpretations of history could very well be snap shots from another dimension!

Here are a few of her works that I like the most:

Goldilocks -

This Rug is Just Right -

art by Lisa Falzon

~~

The Girl in the Rose Veil

~~

Jack and the Queen

by Lisa Falzon

Lisa also offers wearable art and pocket mirrors. If you love her art as much as I do, you'll totally enjoy carrying around these small versions of her work.

Madame Pompadour

Pocket Art Mirror

The Girl in the Rose Veil

Wearable Art

~~

I invite you to delve into Lisa Falzon's world by visiting her:

Blog http://lisa-falzon.blogspot.com/

Portfolio http://www.lisa-falzon.com/

and

Etsy Shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/meluseena

Also,

You can become a fan of her facebook Fanpage

and follow her on twitter Meluseena

I love hand spun, don't you?

The amount of support one can receive from the handmade community is just awesome!

I missed my "It's All Good" entry for yesterday, so to make up for it, i want to share with you a few shops whose love I am definitely feeling.

To start, Shady Fibers on Etsy-
along with a few jewelry items, stitch markers, and knit and crochet, Monet offers some pretty nice roving along with some pizzazz


Another Etsian who offers some roving, as well as some wonderful hand dyed yarns is
Froggy Fibers

My favorite handspun yarn in her shop is called Clown College

Blue, yellow and red come together in this 2-ply Domestic/Merino/Corriedale Wool for a fun effect. It reminds me of Superman Ice cream- perhaps you could knit or crochet the 2.7 ounces offered here into a small bag to make a bold, fun,reminiscent of the good old days statement.

A few more things from Froggy Fibers

☺

It's All Good!

This is my first "It's All Good!"
I've decided to make this a regular feature in my blog in which I will highlight things that i like.
People, places, or things, that is.
I'll be doing them every Thursday (or there about) but for sure once a week.

Small Earthy Featured Pins

are all good!

Once again, i was chatting on etsy and came across a lovely person with something in their shop that caught my eye.

I think it was Becky of allinthefamilyart.etsy.com
that i was chatting with. A lot of her pieces are...funky...
but this one reminded me of the many peaceful walks i like to take around my 'hood. don't you think she looks like she's sighing? perhaps exhaling while snow falls around her, having just smelled a bunch of gorgeous flowers, sighing the feel of her first kiss into her forever memories, or finally stepping foot inside home after a long day.
-so peaceful. ☺
I just love things that make me dream!

I did say that AllinthefamilyArt had some funky pieces, and i meant it!
Here is a spot light of the more typical- but just as thought provoking pieces the shop has to offer:

♥

It's kind of inspiring...

A while ago, I blogged about some photography on etsy that i found myself relating to.
This is that post, only instead of being about Emerald Blue Studio, it's about BonnieBoden's Etsy Shop.
Bonnie is in the process of transitioning from one shop to another- while she's still offering the lovely photos I've featured here and more, I just thought it would be nice to give an update to let you all know that's she's still around- (in case you went clicking the old post)


In a huge cyberspace, i've been feeling a lot like the little, not yet blossomed mums. This picture kind of reminds me of Alice in Wonderland- when she was going through the garden and all that



These photos, which i found in BonieBoden's Etsy shop made me feel like they knew what i was going through.

Some times, new freind ships are so hard to forge for some one like me.
(that is a - give me my yarn and cup of tea, perhaps some good music or maybe an old show and i'm GOOD!- type of girl)

Perhaps with a bit of effort and an extended hand, I'll be on my way to being a big beautiful Mum.
Until then, I'll be blogging and bookmarking, chattin and tweeting and trying to produce the best that i can.

What i'm doing lately

The other day, a friend asked if i could make a spiral scarf for her daughter, which she wanted in blue and this is what i've come up with.
I had used the spiraling technique in one of my scarves before, but had never put it to use for making a whole scarf. I think I may have spiraled this one a bit too tight because it literally looks like a tube or some kind of icing piping. Perhaps i'm just like, "eh" on this one because it's not something that i would have thought to make any other day. that's not a complaint. things outside my box are cool too.

☺

Look at my babies! I took these pictures yesterday. Inside of the flower ones, there are more, pointier leaves sprouting out. (are they true leaves yet??) I'm so excited by their growth. they're actually like tiny stalks! lol
I think i may just move them to a rectangular planter and sit them on the porch.
I'm only just thinking about it, because that would just make all the effort of the carton and eggshells pretty pointless.
But, with the temperature being some where near 95° yesterday, and very close to that today- i don't think they will survive out there in the front.

The other picture is of the watermelon sprouts- LOOK AT THAT LEAF!
i honestly can't imagine getting any watermelons from seeds, but i'm going to stay hopeful and nurturing to these puppies until they pass or fail.

-

I love this Bag!
I've had it for a little while now, and have completely fallen in love with it. so much so that i carry it like a purse, even tho i may only have my keys and chap stick to carry. I used to use it soley for trips to the store, in an effort to not use those plastic bags from the store, but u always would up taking a few anyway.
Because i love this bag so much, i've decided to make one inspired by it. So far, i've started out with a hot pink yarn and am complimenting it with the earth and sky, like the one i used for this cap, along with a bit of white.

Naturally, i started the bag in rows, but i'm starting to feel like iwant to do something else, like free form circles or perhaps a few hexagonal patches, similar to a granny square bag. the only issue with those ideas is how to get them to be a long rectangle in the end, so that i can attatch a strap and line the bag.
This is going to be on on-going WIP for sure, but i can't wait to see what i'll come up with. i may just surprise myself! =-)
☺

On a side note, a fellow Artfire Artisan, RiskyBeads used my pink rave handbag, along with a good seletion of other pretty pink things in a spotlight she calls 'If Your Mother's Favorite Color is...Pink'. You can check out it on her blog HERE

Friday Feature

I'd like to start featuring my favorite handmade items more regularly here on my blog, so I'm going to give this Friday Feature thing a try. There are definitely more than one a week worth of awesome handmade things, but, doing a regular feature will make it so I'm not feeling like I have to squeeze blog posts in while also making sure that i share my appreciation for others' handmade goodness at least once a week.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Mostly copper, some sterling silver, and a piece or 2 of brass; almost perfect, but not so in just the right way, disks, squares, and spirals come together with semi-precious stones to give Ggestalt's Shop a refined rustic feel.

This ring caught my eye, perhaps because unlike most of the other jewelry in Ggestalt's Shop, the curves and lines seem to exact on this one. It was made using sterling silver and moonstone.
Or maybe I love it because it looks like something to suck on, lol, like ice, or mike and ikes.

Mike and Ikes!! that's IT!
I loved sucking on those things to get the flavor off and then spitting them out, lol jelly beans too =-)

Anyway- back to the feature...
Please check out Ggestalt's Shop over on etsy for more great stuff.

Partially Crocheted, Totally Awesome

Rachel's Joy

I'm sure that it doesn't take being a crocheter to appreciate the beauty and and creative use of crochet in Rachel's pieces.

I honestly didn't recognize that there was crochet in this and other pairs of earrings that she has to offer until i read the descriptions. (I must admit, it's not something that i do too often, lol).

I'm all for cute jeans simple jeans and semi-sophisticated tops. This pair of earrings reminds me of just that.

i could totally see myself boppin along as the day goes by while at work or play with this pair of
Mediterranean Eye Earrings, or even while sporting this Blue Squares Pendant

Cant you?
=-)

Really, what is that?

I don't know if this is deja vu or my energy's way of telling me when it's time to get off the computer, but earlier today, while I was in between reading and deciding whether or not I wanted to crochet or start on a stamp (I'll show you that disaster later) the question popped into my head suddenly-
'wtf is a gilkee?'

I have no idea why I wondered this or even what one was. But while browsing the Artfire forums, I came across BryanKite's studio and in it- there's a "Giclees" section.

Now, I know I was probably saying it all wrong, but I'm sure this is what I was trying to think of.

' Giclée' is an invented name for the process of making fine are prints from a digital source using ink-jet printing'. The name comes from the French word GICLEE (pronounced Zhee-Clay) that means “spray".
(taken from www.reference.com)
[It's actually a lot more than just an ink-jet printing- i just took the simplified explanation and plunked it here. you can follow the reference.com link for a more in depth definition of what they are.]

They can be in color, like the one of BryanKite's that's shown above, or monochrome like the one below that I favor =-)

They're pretty interesting, if not that AND beautiful. Please click to check him out

♥

Valerie's Gallery is full of cute!

♥

Great for pistachios (that's what i'd use them for), paperclips, thumb tacks and pretty much anything small- this set of nestling bowls is CUTE, and perfect for welcoming in spring while keeping you organized and in good spirits.

Valerie's Gallery also offers other cute, fuzzy, bright, and useful items such as scarves, jewelery, cozies for all kinds of little things, and children's items, like this hair pony:
Couldn't you just see it resting at the base of springy ponytail or on the end of french braid?

The list of wonderful could go on and on, but i'll stop here and just give you the link to her studio on Artfire: http://valeriesgallery.artfire.com so you can check it out for yourself =-)

Bright and Simple

I'm feeling kind of drab right now, so i searched Artfire for something bright and simple to wish for.
These "Yellow Itty Bitties" came up and i love the simplicity of them. i could totally see myself wearing them this summer with a pair of dark jeans and flip flops and a cute flowing top.
At just $8, the price is right (but i'm broke) lol =(

DaisyChains offers this style of earring in several fun colors.
I've Kaboodled these bad boys!

Guess what i Got!

well, i haven't gotten it yet, but i did order it and so, i've got something to look forward to receiving.

a couple months ago, i did swear off buying anything ever again on etsy.
but it's full of such wonderful stuff that i just couldn't resist.

for a little while now, i've been wanting to learn to spin. i need to feel productive in some sort of way and i'm sure that this will help me out.
I've been very hesitant to buy one of these doo-dads from etsy because i've always found that shipping them was too high.

totaling about $10.75, i think it is, this thing is just perfect!

i had some funds in my paypal and so i got it!

it's been a while since i purchased something just for me, so i think i deserve it. and if i don't well, whatcha gonna do about it? lol

an old buddy from CFL, who now has her own shop full of greatness helped me find this wonderful spindle.

You can find her here on Etsy or simply click on the picture- it's one of my favorites in her shop.
Although she's named the colorway of this yarn "all that and a bag of chips", it reminds me of the sky. it's like a whole day full of sky in one roving.

My son and i were at the park yesterday evening and i swear the sky was that shade of blue- my favorite if there ever could be for the sky..
the street lights were on, birds were heading home, and stars began to twinkle. i love it!

anyway- check out her shop, she sells a bit of this and that and she's pretty cool too.

Speaking of quality customer service

One of my recent purchases on etsy has been an awesome one.
Shipping was fast, and the product is great!

Stumbling upon JacksblueJane in chat one night, i fell in love with her shop!
it totally helps that she's a nice person, but the colors of silk caps (for spinning and what not) that she offers just sucked me in.

Not even knowing how to spin or what to do with one, i hurried and swooped up this one
and let me tell ya, the colors are just as yummy as seen in the picture.
If i did not know where this silk came from(which i believe is a worm's butt) - packaged similarly to cotton candy, it's a wonder why i haven't! I'd definitely bite it while no one was looking.

my son couldn't resist the urge to pet it so i had to stash it in the top of the closet. but i can still reach it =->

She just so happened to be doing a give away on her blog that night too, so i got an extra one for free!
I'll definitely be going back for more. and Jane, you best look out once i get this spinning thing under my belt!

another great stocking stuffer idea

to change modes a bit here..
i was browsing artfire, looking at how their categories were set up and where my things fell into the categories there, and i came across this necklace.
I love the simplicity of this necklace, which can be found in Beadz-N-Things shop on artfire.

It's under $20.00, which makes it even greater!

Stocking Stuffers on Etsy

ok, so, here's what iw as going to post in my last Stocking stuffers on etsy post.
A

Sterling silver Guitar pick

which can be found in SkinzNhydez's Shop on Etsy.

I wish i had some hot guitar playing guy to gift one of these picks too.
i can just see it now- him pulling it out of his stocking and his smile growing wider. of course i'd want him to test it out for me so he'd play and i'd swoon in front of the ole fire place on christmas night.

Aaah, i'm such a dreamer, lol

anyway, back to reality-
SkinzNhydez's shop is full of great looking leather stuff that is unique, funky, stylish, and a whole lot more.

Check it out!

Stocking Stuffers on Etsy (and a gift for Hanukkah)

Man, i hadn't realized that it's been a long time since i've blogged!
so, to make up for it, i'll be posting 3 things that would make good stocking stuffers... well, one that would make a good Hanukkah gift, and two stocking stuffers-

If you read and speak hebrew, you probably knew what this patch said right off the bat.
i had to read the description ;P

Taken directly from the listing:
"Chai (pronounced [xai], occasionally [ħai]) is a symbol and word that figures prominently in Jewish culture and consists of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet Het (ח) and Yod (י).

In the Hebrew language, the word chai (חַי) spelled by these two letters means "living," is related to the term for "life,"

I remember that when i was in high school, there was always a group of people who loved customizing their clothes. whether it was with permamnenet marker or patches... looking back on it now, i think it's way cool, and wish that i had thought to be creative that young.

So, for a stocking stuffer:

You can find both of these patches and lots more, as well as other embroidered stuff that is not just cute but, is cool as well here at Auntifranni's Shop.












ok, so that was only 2!
i got tired=-p
will do the next one later.

Stocking Stuffers on Etsy

I don't know why i didn't think of cuff links a long time ago! it wasn't until some one in chat mentioned that they had gotten a pair for some one they know that i thought, 'well duh!'

I think that regardless of age, if you ever loved legos, you always will. a good gift idea for the young and young at heart, bitsandbadges offers a lot of fun links, ranging from the traditional square legos to some rather nice round ones.

And what better way to present them than in a nice handmade box. goodstuff513 offers a few more boxes in different finishes along with other hand crafted wooden stuffs.

Whether the fun, lego cuff links or the sleek, traditional ones are more your recipient's style, a hand crafted gift box lasts a life time, and will be useful no matter how tastes change.

Stocking Stuffers on Etsy

i don't know if i like this

What's Up Your Sleeve Fabric Coffee Sleeve

on the go coffee cup sleeve because i personally know a marine who practically lives off coffee, or because it appears to be so well made.
there's a good variety of sleeves of this style in What's Up Your Sleeve's shop.

with nearly 50 items in her shop, she's sure to have a sleeve that's sure to suit someone you know.

=-)

Stocking Stuffers on Etsy

So, i'm actually starting to get serious about slowling buying stocking stuffers for the family.
i have an 18 yr old male to buy for, a 5 yr old boy, and 2 ladies over 40.
i'm definitely going to have to get the 5 year old, and perhaps even the 18 year old some of these boogers.













They're soaps of course! i'm not really sure how they smell, it'd be great if they were lime-like, but the novelty of them is enough to have me sold!

it's really tough , it seems, to find stocking stuffers for males, so perhaps i'll focus on those a bit more.

Random stocking stuffer idea

Today's stocking stuffer idea :


These crayons would make awesome stocking stuffers for a small child. Shaped like stars, they're perfect for grasping and their bright colors make learning fun.

I like Mommy Buzz' shop because she gives back to her community by sharing her crayons and other things with children at local hospitals.

My son loves using these crayons, and she's got lots of other fun shapes.. definitely check her out!